Speaking at Mexico City technology forum TagDF, Aliens and Avatardirector James Cameron confirmed that his adaptation of Battle Angel Alita, a nine-volume manga series about a cyborg in a post-apocalyptic future struggling to reclaim her memories, will be going ahead after filming is concluded on Avatar 3.

The filmmaker said that, to one-up Avatar, he will be shifting his focus from creating new technologies to expanding story and characters. This trans-human exploration (themes that have “haunted” him for years) will also extend to his long-rumoredBattle Angel, which the filmmaker said he will begin to develop in 2017, presumably around the time he’s in post-production on Avatar 3.